If you’re running an eCommerce site, you already know the power of search. But here’s what’s changing: people aren’t just searching with keywords like “best running shoes” anymore. They’re asking questions. “Are Nike Air Zooms good for flat feet?” “Which headphones work best for Zoom calls?” “What’s the difference between ceramic and titanium straighteners?”
And they expect one clear answer — not a list of product pages.
This is where Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) comes in. It doesn’t replace SEO. It enhances it.
SEO: Your Foundation for Visibility
Search Engine Optimisation is still essential. It ensures your products are indexed, your categories rank, and your brand shows up in the results when someone searches. Great SEO drives consistent traffic, powers product discovery, and supports growth over time.
But SEO is mostly about visibility in traditional search — and that’s no longer the only place customers are looking.
AEO: Winning the High-Intent Moments
AEO is about becoming the answer when someone asks a specific question. That might be through voice search, a chatbot, or an AI tool surfacing product recommendations. It’s about creating content that answers very real buying questions with speed and clarity.
For ecommerce brands, AEO can:
- Position your product as the solution to specific needs
- Drive better-qualified traffic with high purchase intent
- Improve visibility in featured snippets, FAQs, and AI summaries
- Build trust before a user even visits your product page
AEO and SEO: Not Either/Or — It’s Both
Ecommerce brands that focus only on SEO are competing in a crowded race for page one. Brands that layer in AEO are leapfrogging to the front — not just ranking, but responding.
- SEO gets your products found
- AEO gets your products chosen
- SEO supports wide product and category visibility
- AEO captures users asking “which one should I buy?”
- SEO fuels discovery
- AEO powers decision-making
